Light Within the darkness
by maliciousthinker91
Summary: Naruto comes back from his 3 years of trianing to find that the Leaf shinobi are all but wiped out. The rookie 9 and a select few other shinobi survived. With all this Naruto finds friends and romance in odd places. NarutoxHinata & others, possible lemon.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**The Light Within the Darkness**

**Part 1**

1Evil, there was no other word for him. Just plain, horrid, wickedness from the depths of hell that was so gruesome, so very terrible, the only word for it was evil. Most of the times evil that vile had no name, just a label with an image, but he was an exception to everything, even death.

His name... was Madara Uchiha, and he was the head of an organization known as the Akatsuki. His aura sent chills down the spines of the most malevolent criminals that made up his powerful and controlling organization. His men and women were some of the world's most powerful shinobi and jutsu specialists. He was the commander of an organization whose depths were known only to a select few very loyal members. His mind worked like a finely tuned clock. Everything he planned fell into place at exactly the right time in the most perfect of ways. And all unseen factors and deaths that occurred within these plans were always insignificant and trivial. Members who died a premature death were always considered expendable and of no great loss to the overall goals of the Akatsuki.

He was also very, very, demented. Like every great power in the world he was not without flaws. His mind grew more and more sadistic each day. He loved to see others in anguish and then watch with pleasure as the breathed their last breath. He was a vicious and cruel man with no remorse for his opponents and his wrath was swift. Add all this up and you got Madara Uchiha, malicious and evil leader of a group that reflected those same traits.

He was going to conquer a world…

Ambitious, there was no other word for him. Just plain headstrong, ambitious, and determined to become the best. He had a drive to win that just couldn't be compared to any other shinobi. Most of the times being stubborn and headstrong was a bad trait for a shinobi, but he had turned it into the most powerful attribute anyone had ever seen.

His name…. was Naruto Uzumaki, and he was a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village. His cheery smiled and resolute eyes inspired all who were around him to try harder to become great as well. All of his friends were strong and had the potential to become legendary amongst their own clans and Village. He was the shining light that inspired an entire Village of shinobi to work harder and never give up, no matter how hopeless it could get. His mind was a one-track mind, training day in and day out to try and improve his own skills. He was a highly skilled shinobi whose unbreakable spirit only greatened his fighting abilities. If the people of the Village Hidden in the Leaves had a Will of Fire, then the fire in him could set the world ablaze.

There was no one in the whole Village who truly knew Naruto and didn't like him. His positive attitude could be annoying at times, but most of the time it made others laugh even if it was at him every now and then. He had been gone for nearly three years on an extended training session with a sannin named Jiraiya. Now he was back home and eager to help his Village.

He was going to protect them all….

Two men, one world, and the fate of it hangs in the balance. One man seeks to rule it. The other man seeks to protect it. Two shinobi with endless allies about to start a war that could tear apart everything and leave nothing but death and ruins in the wake. Only one will survive, this is The Light Within the Darkness….

Authors notes: Well here we go, on a journey of love, passion, humor, blood and gore, hatred, more love, guest stars like Dr. Phil, Oprah, Britney Spears' common sense (as soon as we find it). And live bands like Godsmack, Demons & Wizards, John Lennon (may he rest in piece) and much MUCH more! By the way there is nothing I can do about the 1 in the very first paragraph, so you're just gonna have to deal with it :P !


	2. A Semiwarm Welcome

**The Light Within the Darkness**

**Part 2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this story, yes I know, heartbreaking isn't it?**

Naruto kept a steady pace as he leaped from tree to tree. He kept his guard up even though he was in the territory was supposedly friendly. Jiraiya had taught him that there was never such a thing, but Naruto tried to stay optimistic about it. Besides, he was on the outskirts of Konohagakure for the first time in almost three years! There was nothing that could spoil his good mood today, even with Jiraiya's constant nagging behind him.

"Naruto, don't forget to keep your eyes on the little details, but don't focus so much that you miss the bigger picture. Remember how to keep and even amount of attention on both while maintaining a good speed. Don't forget to keep one hand near your kunai pouch and be…"

"Will you stop with the last minute training session already! We are done with the training now, you can feel free to stop picking out every little thing that senile brain of yours can pick out and just enjoy the fact that we're almost home."

Jiraiya smiled slightly at the remark, he sometimes forgot how much Naruto had grown. Though he could think better on his feet now, and didn't feel the need to loudly announce every jutsu he ever did five minutes before he did it. He had made many similar improvements over the last three years that Naruto had been with him. He had gotten more knowledge of the shinobi skills and what makes a Hokage so great. Naruto turned out to be a good learner after a few months, which really surprised Jiraiya. Naruto never seemed like the book studying type, but when it came to what he aspired to be Naruto could bring himself to do damn near anything. And he had proven that time and time again. For the first time in many MANY years, Jiraiya was proud of himself.

"Hey Naruto, how about we stop here and take a break for a bit. These old legs just aren't what they used to be."

"Fine, but if it's a last minute lecture than spare me. I've had enough of your all-knowing wisdom for one lifetime. That, and I really want to see everybody again. Two and a half years is a long time to go without seeing someone, even by your infinite years, old man." Jiraiya snorted at that last remark Naruto made.

"I may be old but I could still rip you a new one. Never forget Naruto, you may get stronger than me, but you will never, EVER, be meaner than I am."

Naruto got a wicked grin of his face and looked Jiraiya right in the face.

"What if I went four tails on your ancient ass right here and now?"

Insert long pause here

"Er….ummm… I guess you got me there, but that's not really fair though. You know as well as I do that's something you don't want to go trying anytime soon. I don't think either of us would survive another Kyuubi episode."

The scene grew glum with that last remark and Jiraiya felt bad for killing Naruto's good mood. He had to make it up to him somehow. But how was the real question. What did Naruto really, REALLY, enjoy to do?

Something…..anything…..but what?….

Then it hit Jiraiya like a round-house kick to the face.

"Hey, we've rested long enough, let's get headin' home and I'll take you to Ichiraku, my treat."

Naruto's face lit up like the Forth of July. (Not that is means much to them)

"REALLY, THEN WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?"

And like Rock Lee's Leaf Hurricane Naruto spun around towards home and went flying.

Jiraiya just stood there shaking his head and smiling.

"Hahaha, I guess I was wrong. Naruto has a two-track mind, training and ramen. But to each his own I suppose." Jiraiya walked off in the direction of Konohagakure and hoped that Naruto wouldn't cause too much trouble while he wasn't there to dictate his every move.

Naruto stopped just short of the gates. He was so pumped up now. Free Ichiraku Ramen and he was home for the first time in almost three years. Nothing could make this day a bad one. That was until he finally heard a voice calling his name off in the distance.

"HEY BOSS! LONG TIME NO SEE!"

Running towards Naruto not but a football field away…was Konohamaru, with a grin so wide it seemed to split his preteen face.

'Awww shit, not now. Not when I'm almost home. My luck isn't this bad.'

Sure enough, it was. Because Konohamaru kept coming and he showed no signs of slowing down even though Naruto was running from him.

'Slow down…please…please…PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!'

For the next part, let's just say Konohamaru didn't stop. And since Naruto was expecting him to…well you can see where I'm going with this.

Konohamaru spear tackled Naruto right in the gut. This sent both of them tumbling off for a few yards until they both rolled right into a tree.

"What in the hell is wrong with you kid? You could have killed me!"

Konohamaru was still grinning from ear to ear while he rubbed his shoulder.

"Aww come on boss, I was just kidding around. You know it's been a while since I've seen you and I just got a little over excited that's all."

"Well could you tone it down a bit, any more 'excitement' and I might break a rib!"

He glared at Konohamaru with such intensity that the young shinobi had to look away. Konohamaru started to get back on his feet, his gaze still lingering on the dirt beneath him. In that moment Naruto saw an opportunity he just couldn't pass up.

He showed a hint of a smile….and acted swiftly.

While Konohamaru was bending over to finally stand up straight, Naruto attacked.

"A THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!"

And with that Naruto stuck the young shinobi with four fingers right in the rectum, sending Konohamaru flying toward the great walls that protected Konohagakure and smacked into them. Naruto bust out in uncontrolled laughter.

"HAHAHAHA I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FELL FOR THE 'FAKE PISSED OFF ACT'. DOESN'T IRUKA SENSAI TEACH ANYTHING TO YOU GUYS ANYMORE?" Rolling around in the dirt and holding his sides to keep them from splitting, Naruto laughed till he thought he was going to burst. After a good ten minutes he looked over at Konohamaru and got up off the ground.

"Ok Konohamaru, you'll be fine. Just walk it off and you'll be feeling just peachy."

But Konohamaru didn't move, he still lay there on the ground.

"Konohamaru?"

Still no answer.

"Ok Konohamaru this isn't funny. If it's a joke you're taking it way too far."

As he neared the body, he noticed something. There was something different about Konohamaru all of the sudden. As he grew closer, he noticed something sticking out of Konohamaru's shirt.

A piece of straw…

Jiraiya was now in sight of the village, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"Well, it least it's still here. That means nothing too horrible has happened just yet. No screams of terror or pain, no smoke from fire, no explosions. Maybe Naruto has become more subtle in his approach towards-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Jiraiya jumped at this yell of anger coming from the village gates.

"Maybe I spoke to soon…I just hope he hasn't hurt anyone yet."

Running off in the direction of the ear-splitting noise, Jiraiya moved as fast as he could and prepared for the worst.

" DAMN IT ALL KONOHAMARU, IF I EVER GET AHOLD OF YOU I'LL HIT YOU SO HARD THAT THE THIRD HOKAGE WILL FEEL IT!"

As Jiraiya came to the source of the noise he stopped. He saw Naruto on he knees before a straw dummy with a sign on the forehead reading 'Missed' on it. And piece-by-piece it came to him. That Naruto had been fooled by the young Konohamaru and was pissed at himself for his foolishness. Currently Naruto was rendering the straw dummy limb from limb in anger.

"Ok, so he's still a little hot-headed, nothing a good ass-kicking won't fix," Jiraiya mumbled under his breath. "But more of that later, right now I need to calm him down."

Jiraiya walked over to Naruto who was still pounding at the dummy as if it really were Konohamaru. A sad sigh escaped him and he shook his head. Walking over to Naruto Jiraiya pulled him up off the ground and spun him around so that Naruto was facing him.

"What in the _hell _do you think you're doing? If this is how you act in the face of defeat, then I have just wasted two and a half years of my life."

The angry expression on Naruto's face quickly left and now in it's place was a look of shame.

"I'm sorry master Jiraiya. (It's what Jiraiya had started making Naruto call him instead of 'pervy sage' but Naruto only did in times of guilt and when he knew he was in the wrong) It won't happen again. Just being tricked by some little Genin really pissed me off." The angry expression slowly reappeared on his face. Jiraiya had no intention of letting it get him again.

"Hey, first off need I remind you that _your _still a Genin and that nobody is perfect. You went all that time spent with me with little or no mistakes, so you were bound to slip up sometime. It's just the nature of being human. If you can't accept that Naruto Uzumaki, then I have failed you as a teacher."

Naruto bit his lower lip in frustration.

'_I can't stand it when pervy sage gets like this. All emotional and the whole 'I failed you as a teacher' shit that he's told me a good 400 times over our whole training period. But the only I can do is apologize and humour him until he shuts up._'

"Yes sir, I'm truly sorry for my immature behaviour. I will make sure that nothing like this will even happen again. Will I be allowed to get revenge on the little shit?"

Jiraiya let out a hardy laugh and looked at Naruto with a grim amusement.

"Kid, there is only one thing I can think of that could possible make you regain your lost honour. That's to get that kid back ten-fold. And here's how you're going to do it. But not today, you let him have the battle, and we'll get the war."

Jiraiya slowly leaned over and whispered something inaudible to Naruto. All I can say that happened after that was Naruto slowly got that prankster grin across his face.

"That's horrible Jiraiya. I love it!"

Jiraiya and Naruto walked slowly but eagerly over to the Ichiraku Ramen stand. It had been many a day's travel to Konohagakure and they both had little to eat in that time. Naruto sat down in the seat he usually sat before he left with Jiraiya. Jiraiya plopped down next to him and made the order.

"Hey Teuchi! How 'bout two large bowls of ramen with pork over here please."

Teuchi (the guy who runs Ichiraku for those of us who are a little slow) turned around and regarded the newcomers with a hearty smile and cheer to boot.

"Jiraiya and Naruto. It's been awhile since I've seen either of you two around here. I really missed my favorite regular." He nodded towards Naruto who grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, how's about I make those two bowls on the house. Considerin' you two have been gone for a while, call it a welcome home gift."

Both of the two men at the counter grinned and nodded.

"Ok you two, consider these bowels on me. HEY AYAME! TWO LARGE BOWLS WITH PORK ON ME!"(snicker he said 'pork on me')

After a few minutes a young woman walked out carrying two large bowels filled to the top with ramen out. She regarded the two men at the counter much like her father did. She handed them their bowls and smiled.

"Hey you two, it's been a while hasn't it."

Naruto was WAY too busy stuffing his face as fast as he could. Luckily Jiraiya was there to acknowledge her and respond.

"Yeah, we've been out training here and there. We've been traveling for several days now with minimal rations, so you can well imagine how hungry we…well…just look at Naruto." Naruto was at the time looking around in his bowel for any small morsel he may have missed in his gorging. Ayame just laughed at the sight.

"Ok, well, I can see you two are busy filling up. I'll leave you to your meal and welcome home."

"Thank you miss."

And with that Ayame turned and walked out of the room and behind the curtain. Jiraiya was pleased at the welcome they had received so far but was wondering as to how long it would last. Something had to go wrong sooner or later, but he just wrote it off as being pessimistic and continued eating.

Naruto walked toward the Hokage's office after finishing up at Ichiraku. He had downed five bowls while Jiraiya only got two. For once in his life Jiraiya actually PAID for it when he said he would. This only added to Naruto's great mood and he even whistled while he walked. Nothing was going to ruin his day.

"Ummmm….Naruto?"

Naruto turned around and saw a girl standing in his shadows. She had long dark hair and beautiful eyes that could make a man's knees shake. Her body was curved in such a way it made Naruto wish that she wore less clothing. He looked up at that face that made him stutter for a moment…

It was Hinata.

She had grown up into what Naruto thought was one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes in. Despite all of her good looks, he couldn't help but stare at one thing, and that was her chest. (Yes, almost 3 years with Jiraiya has had some effect on his views on women) Despite the baggy jacket that she wore, her chest was of such size that it would take a lot more than a baggy jacket to cover it up. Realizing he was thinking all this about her and that he still hadn't answered her, Naruto blushed a little.

"Hey Hinata, how's it going?"

As soon as Hinata met the young mans gaze she blushed and quickly looked away. She twiddled her thumbs in an old nervous habit as she spoke.

"I just…umm…wanted to make sure you got back ok. And…umm…to tell you…that I…I…I'm glad your back…" She looked away and her blush deepened. Naruto didn't know what was going on though; he never did when it came to Hinata. (And may the Gods slap-eth him upside the head for it someday!) But he felt he should compliment her looks though. That's what guys were supposed to do right? Problem was, he just didn't know how to do so. He just went with the straightforward approach, much like he did in battle. However, that's was never as easy as it seemed.

"Thanks Hinata. You know…I think you look really good. I MEAN…umm...you look beautiful…I mean…damn it. I'm sorry, I just wanted to tell you that I think you've gotten very beautiful over the time that I have been gone. HA, there I said it and I'm still in one piece." Grinning from ear to ear, Naruto noticed that Hinata seemed to have frozen while he was talking. Her eyes were opened so wide he thought they were going to split and her face was the color of a tomato. He tilted his head as he walked over to her.

"Hinata, are you alright? You're not moving much. Hinata?" And as he approached he stopped mid step as he saw Hinata start to fall to the ground. Quickly realizing this, Naruto jumped over and caught her just before she hit the ground. He grumbled a bit and stood up holder her in his arm. She still looked the exact same though.

'_Ok, this hits way up there on my 'weird shit' o'meter. I mean, I gave her a complement right? I didn't know this is how women react to that sort' a thing. Oh well, I'll just have to take her somewhere that I know well be alone so that I can talk to her and find out what's up. She always was a weird one…Of course…she's gotten pretty good looking for a weird one if I do say so myself. Anyway, I know just the place to go where we can be alone to chat.'_

And with that, the young Uzumaki boy walked off into the distance, still holding the petrified Hinata in his arm.

_To be continued…(duh)_

Author's Notes: Damn that took longer than I wanted it to. So what do ya think? I'd really appreciate a little read and review here. I mean come one, I'm not writing this shit just for your benefit only. I thought it moved pretty slowly though, maybe that's just me. OH WELL! Tell me what's on your minds so that I can mull it all over. It'd make my next instalment better if I got a little review every now and then, a big shout out to THE HEE-HO KING, my first review. Thanks, every bit counts in my book. Next time, Tenten gets breast implants….HAHAHA…just kidding, but in my opinion they could hurt…me at least. More Naruhina goodness in the next instalment of The Light Within the Darkness!


	3. The Clock Starts Ticking

**The Light Within the Darkness**

**Part 3**

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or any of the original characters.

Tsunade stood on a balcony overlooking Konohagakure and sighed. It had been a really hard time for her lately. Every day it was always something going either kind of good or really shitty. Reports of her best falling on the battlefield came in a lot more than she wanted. It seemed everyday she lots more and more shinobi to this quickly rising Akatsuki group.

It had all started a few months ago, when she received word of two men in black cloaks with red clouds on them, wandering around the Leaf Village border. So she assumed the worst and dispatched ten of her top Anbu Black Ops to deal with the problem. It had turned out that even her best were no match for the awesome might of the Akatsuki. Only one of the ten returned. A young Black Ops who was new to the job had reported one of the men had red eyes, and the other had blue skin and wielded a wicked looking sword.

She sighed again; nothing was simple anymore. She knew that as soon as word that Akatsuki were on her doorstep. And the Village Hidden in the Sand was not fairing much better. The Akatsuki were after the Kazekage and so they couldn't help out much. It seemed everyone had his or her own problems to deal with nowadays.

'_Well, it's obvious they want Naruto, but he's not here. And why him? Hasn't he been through enough shit in his life? Why does it always seem like everyone is out to get him? WHAT THE HELL DID HE DO TO ANYONE!?' _She clenched her fists in frustration and bit her lower lip so hard it drew blood.

"I swear to whoever is listening, if anyone tries to lay a hand on that boy, I will personally see to it that they die by my hands!"

She was so angry that she didn't even notice the figure walking up behind her.

"Well well, I didn't know that you could be so caring Tsunade," there was a hint of amusement in the stranger's voice. She was so startled by this new presence that she quickly spun around and wiped the blood from her lower lip. Looking this figure up and down, she could help but let a little hint of a smirk cross her ageless face.

"Jiraiya, I should've known. Who else can sneak up on women like that?"

Jiraiya just laughed and returned her gaze.

"You've got me there. Tsunade, you're just as I remembered, not a day older than you were since I left." His smile slowly died away and a sympathetic sorrow filler his eyes. "But you _have_ aged, though not in appearance. I can see it in your eyes. I see someone who has been living through some really rough times lately. And I see someone who hasn't gotten a good nights sleep in a _long_ time." Tsunade just rolled here eyes.

"_You_ haven't changed a bit though Jiraiya. You think that pointing out my problems is going to make me want to date you. Sorry to tell you old friend, it won't work. You really want to help me? Think up some solutions to my problems, not just point them out."

Jiraiya just shook his head. These were two old teammates and friends who knew much about each other. Jiraiya just wished that he didn't have to go through this every single time she had a broken nail (metaphorically speaking).

"Ok, well maybe if I knew what said problems were, I _might_ be able to help. Until then I guess I'll just sit here saying 'My Tsunade, what big jugs you have' until you crack." Tsunade scowled at him and her voice held more than a hint of anger.

"You will do nothing of the sort. And since you are _SO_ interested in my troubles, here they are!" She walked over to her desk, picked up a four-foot stack of papers and dropped them at his feet. "I'm losing more and more shinobi everyday, and these reports of casualties in the field show no signs of slowing down. The Akatsuki are more active than ever, and worst of all, Itachi and Kisame are still the ones after Naruto." She let out a frustrated sigh and sat down in her chair to try and relax. This wasn't an easy thing for her to talk about and not get worked up. Jiraiya almost felt sorry for asking.

"I know it's hard for you to talk about, but I need this information if I'm to continue my search for their leader. Please Tsunade, I need this." Tsunade looked up with sorrowful eyes and nodded. It was times like this they were _both _happy of the understanding they had with one another.

"Ok, I'll tell you what I can. I think all the cells of the Akatsuki are starting to mobilize. From what our intelligence has gathered more and more pairs of Akatsuki groups are appearing, far beyond your original group of nine. We think here in the next few months they'll take one fell swoop to gain control over all the Jinchuriki (tailed-beasts). Though we have yet to figure out why. What have you gathered in your time?"

Jiraiya sat down in a chair in front of her desk and leaned back in it, as if forcing himself to relax. "I know the names of all the members of the original nine with the exception of two. First off are Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. Obviously I don't need to tell you anything about them. Then there is the team of Hidan and Kakuzu. Hidan is part of the Jashin cult that demands a lot of bloodshed for worshiping rituals. He wields a three bladed scythe and is supposedly immortal. His partner Kakuzu is in it for money and wants nothing more than to enlarge his bank account. There is an odd ball Tobi, who seems to be relatively new. I know very little of him due to his short time with them. Next we have Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara-"

"WAIT ONE MINUTE! You mean to tell me that Sasori, the puppet master, is in the Akatsuki?"

Jiraiya regarded her with a stern face.

"Yes. He has been with them for some time now, I assume." Tsunade forced some laughter that sounded more nervous than she intended.

"That's just great. This is making my day better and better."

"I never said I had good news, nor did you ask for any." They both stared at one another for a while.

"Your right. I just…I don't know what to do anymore. I could go into the field myself, but that runs the risk of my death. I personally don't think the village could do without me right now. I know what I need, and that's shinobi. Good ones too, not just some fresh recruits who have never seen a real battle before. They require time to train that we don't have. The clock is ticking, and we don't seem to be getting any breaks soon. I'm out of options." Tsunade started to shake again, but for different reasons.

Jiraiya looked up into her face and noticed that they were filled with tears. He should have guessed this would happen while he was away. He knew he had to help her somehow, but nothing came to mind. He could go looking for some old friends to help, but who?

Finally…he knew who to go to.

"There is only two guys I can think of that will be of assistance in this. But getting one requires that you tell Naruto who his real parents are." Tsunade looked up at Jiraiya with a stunned expression.  
"You can't be serious! First off, I don't know if Naruto is ready for the truth yet. Second, I really don't need that kind of shit to deal with right now in case you didn't notice. Third, I'm not stupid Jiraiya, I know exactly of whom you speak. Naruto doesn't need that kind of shit right now either and-"

"WHO ARE YOU TO TELL HIM WHAT HE IS AND IS NOT READY FOR?"

"THE HOKAGE, THAT'S WHO! LAST TIME I CHECKED HE IS STILL UNDER _MY _COMMAND!"

There was a long pause between Tsunade and Jiraiya after this.

…

Still no one spoke.

…

Finally Tsunade spoke up.

"Fine, if you think that he can handle this then you go right ahead. But I will not be the one to break the news to that poor kid. You can do that if you want that man so much. So go ahead, but you need to be back within two weeks, ok? For a reason that I'm not really allowed to tell at this point. Just know that things won't be good if you aren't back in two weeks." Jiraiya cast her a suspicious glance. He wasn't stupid either, and he knew she had something up her sleeve. He decided to let this one slip.

"O…K. I'll take your word on that. But I'm not going to tell Naruto either, I'll just let _him _do that. " He smiled and stood up. Tsunade did likewise.

"Jiraiya, you still never told me who the other guy i. Last time I checked two men, not even if they were as strong as you could tip _this _war" Jiraiya looked at her and smiled.

"It's ok Tsunade, the second guy has that covered. You don't need to know his name, not yet at least. Besides, I don't really think I'm in a position to tell you anyway." He turned around and started to walk out the door.

"Wait!" Jiraiya turned around.

"Sorry, but, be careful. I can't afford to lose you most of all, I'm going to need your help in the months to come." Jiraiya just smiled at her.

"Don't worry Tsunade, I think I'm old enough to take care of myself. As for Naruto, he should be in later today. But I really think you should be nicer to his cousin when he gets here. He was never one to put up with other people's shit. He should be here in about three days."

"HE'S ALREADY ON HIS WAY HERE?"

But it was too late, Jiraiya had already poofed out of sight. Tsunade just stood there standing over her desk, shaking with rage. She turned around and slammed her fist into the wall, knocking a good chunk of it clean out.

'_I hope he has every shinobi that's ever walked the earth behind him when he gets back. Because that's what it's going to take to keep me from kicking that shit out of him!'_

Naruto sat under a tree in his old training grounds. He laid Hinata's head on his lap, waiting for her to wake up.

'_Maybe I went about this all wrong. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to her. It doesn't surprise me that I failed at this too, I do at everything else. I have to work my ass off just to get anything going for me. Even then it usually fails sooner or later. Yep, this is just another failure to write off in my life story. I'll try and make it up to her when she comes around.'_

After a good half-hour had passed Hinata started to regain consciousness. She opened her eyes and looked up and saw Naruto right above her. Once again, she had to fight of the darkness that started to come over her again.

'_No, I can't pass out again! I've got to keep calm and collected. I can't show any sign of weakness in front of him. I've got to show him how much stronger I've gotten since he's been gone.'_

"Hi Naruto," Hinata said in a soft voice that was almost a whisper. This got the young man's attention.

"Oh, hi Hinata. I'm glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"G-good, thank you. How long have I been like this?"

"I'd say about an hour and a half. But it's ok, I really didn't mind watching over you. In fact I kind of liked it." He grinned at her and she blushed deeply. He just looked at her for a long time without any words being said. Until Hinata realized that her head was still on his lap. She sat up quickly and looked away from him.

'_We've never just really talked before. Then again, he's never just held me like that before. This could be my chance to tell him how I really feel. But how do I say it? Maybe….no….that won't do….I could…no…not that either….But I need to say something!'_

"I-I'm sorry."

'_Stupid!' _Hinata scolded herself silently.

"Don't be sorry, I really didn't mind." He smiled and scratched the back of his head. She returned his smile and sat down next to him.

"So Hinata, what've you been up to since I left."

"Nothing much, training mostly. I've learned a few new jutsu and so have the others. We get a few missions here and there but Lady Hokage doesn't want to send many of us younger shinobi out into the field nowadays. We've been losing a lot of troops lately, so I've herd. She's been getting really protective of her troops. It's like she at war with herself most of all."

Naruto was stunned by the news. He hadn't heard anything about dying troops or anything even close to that. The village seemed well enough when he first got here. He didn't think she was lying, but this was something he was definitely going to have to bring up with Tsunade later.

"Wow, I had no idea. I guess times are getting tough for all of us. I didn't hear any word from the village since I left with Jiraiya. I've been training non-stop, day in and day out. So I guess I shouldn't be shocked I didn't know. But enough about that, how have things been between you and your family?" Hinata's expression did not improve, much to Naruto's displeasure.

"Not much better, I'm afraid. There still fighting between the cadet branch and main branch of the households. My father is being nicer to me, but only when I do what _he _wants me to do. Neji has gotten a lot nicer to me though. He's been helping me train in our Hyuuga fighting style and things like that."

Naruto grumbled at the mention of Neji, he had been on a mission or two with him but he still didn't care for him very much.

"Neji eh? You know, I never cared for him very much to tell you the truth. Not after what he did to you at the Chunin exams. That never sat well with me."

Hinata was shocked in a good sort of way at his sudden defensiveness of her. Maybe he did have feelings for her after all! However, she forgave Neji, and now she thought that he should too.

"Yeah b-but, it's ok now. He apologized and everything to me. He said it wasn't me he was mad at. Just the whole situation with our family in general. He's not really that bad of a guy."

Naruto looked at her and smiled. Then he looked at her and started to sweat slightly as he slid closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.

'_He's…he's…holding me out of his own volition? But….but…I'm not that lucky…am I?'_ She was thinking so many things and trying to stay conscious at the same time that she didn't even hear Naruto talking.

"Still, I don't think he should have taken it that far, you know? There is a certain point you just don't cross no matter how angry you are. Hinata, you ok?"

Hinata was once again on the verge of passing out. But Naruto had no intention of letting that happen. He pulled her head up and tapped her cheek slightly. This helped her to fight it off this time. Naruto had to ask what was up.

"Hinata, are you sure you're ok?"

'_I have to think of something to tell him quick, I can't let him know yet can I?_'

"I-I'm f-fine, thank you." But Naruto was not buying it at all. Something was up.

"Then why do you seem to pass out every time I get close to you? Do you not like me or something?"

"No! That's not the reason at all!" Hinata said in a pleading voice while reaching back out to him.

"Then why do you do it?"

'_OH NO! IS THIS MY CHANCE? WHAT SHOULD I SAY, I CAN'T DO IT, NOT YET!'_

"HEY NARUTO, LONG TIME NO SEE!"

Naruto and Hinata both sat up and looked at the two figures approaching. It was none other than Rock Lee and Sakura. Hinata sighed gently in relief. This bought her time to think of an answer later. More time than she knew, because Naruto attention was now on Rock Lee and his old teammate Sakura.

"Hey guys! What's going on?"  
Rock Lee and Sakura just smiled.

"Oh nothing much," said Sakura in a nonchalant tone. "Just passing through on my way to go find Kakashi. And Rock Lee here is getting ready to train some more today." Rock Lee grinned from ear to ear and gave a thumbs up.

"That is right, I'm still always training to become the best shinobi I can be. That requires rigorous training every day. Isn't that right Naruto?"

Naruto copied his exact movements. "Damn straight Bushy Brow! You won't catch me slacken off any time soon."

"That is what I like to hear. Oh, hi Hinata. I'm glad I've found you. Neji wanted me to tell you that your father is looked for you back at your manor. That was about an hour or so ago."

Hinata quickly scrambled to her feet and started to walk off in that direction.

"Thank you Lee, I'll see you all later."

Naruto wanted to make sure of that though.

"Hey Hinata wait!" She turned around and looked at him nervously.

"What is it Naruto?"

He scratched the back of his head.

'_What should I say? I want to see her later. How should I go about this??? I've got it!'_

"I just wanted to see if you wanted to come over to my place tonight. You know, hang out maybe?"

Hinata just blankly stared at him. This was like her most wondrous dream coming true.

"Umm sure Naruto, I'll be there. Does seven sound ok?"

"Sure"

It was all going perfect, or so they both thought. Until Rock Lee spoke up.

"Yeah Naruto! We could all get together at your place tonight. You know, Shikamaru, Sakura, Tenten, Shino, the whole gang. We could throw a little welcome home party tonight. I'm so glad I thought of it. See you guys then!"

And before anyone could speak up, Rock Lee sped off into the distance. Leave it to him to make plans and leave before an objection could be made. Sakura just laughed while Naruto and Hinata both stood there, mouths hanging wide open.

"Well you two, I have to go find Kakashi. I think that I'll help Rock Lee sped the word. Since it's obviously too late for anyone to tell him no. Oh by the way Naruto, Lady Tsunade wanted me to tell you to see her right away. In case you didn't already know. Well, sorry to be in such a rush but I really do have to go. I'll see you two later tonight."

Now it was Sakura's turn to walk off towards town. She knew that they weren't going to say anything. Besides, they both had places to be as well. After she was out of seeing distance, Naruto and Hinata just looked at each other.

"Well Hinata, I guess I'll see you tonight," said Naruto who was kind of embarrassed about the whole situation.

"Yeah, s-see you tonight." To Hinata, these words were had to say, considering she had never said them to a boy before, let alone _the_ boy of her dreams.

Now the pair walked off. Each heading in their own direction. Unknown to the other, they were both thinking the same thing.

'_How am I going to be able to be alone with him?'_

'_How am I going to be able to be alone with her?'_

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

Authors notes: Well here is the new update. Don't worry about the whole 'Naruto's cousin' thing, I promise not to have too many original characters. I'd like to keep it simple so it's not too hard to follow. Hope you all enjoy it bunch of freeloading sons of- sorry, it's just that I have a LOT of hits and only three reviews… something's up. You know what, I know what I'll do. I'll put a curse on all of you who read and don't review. Here it goes…In some point of your life, may your crotch be infested with the crabs of a thousand whores and your arms made too short to scratch. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, OR WHATEVER HOLIDAY YOU CELEBRATE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

Next time…THE PARTY, THERE WILL BE NUDITY, OH YES, THERE WILL BE NUDITY!


	4. Murder and Unkown Love

**The Light Within the Darkness**

**Part 4**

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or any of the original characters.

Naruto walked to the door and knocked. Taking into account how many times he'd been here, knocking didn't really seem necessary. He did anyway out of common courtesy. He heard someone stumble and then the door opened. Tsunade stood there grinning like…well…more like Naruto than he'd ever want to admit.

"Hey kid, long time no see. I thought you'd be stopping by sometime. Jiraiya said something like that anyway."

"Yeah, probably. Nice to see you too, Granny Tsunade." Her smiled quickly turned into an expression of annoyance.

"No matter how much I missed you, I'll never miss that nickname." Naruto just laughed at her. This was his old life, he'd forgotten how much he'd missed it. Being gone for the amount of time he had been really helped him appreciate what he had before he left.

"I'll bet. Speaking of Jiraiya, where did he run off to?"

Tsunade looked down as if she felt guilty for some reason. Naruto was beginning to wonder if everyone had a secret nowadays. Everyone he ran into seemed happy until he asked them any sort of question.

"He left a while ago. He went to go look for recruits to help protect our village in it's time of need. He said you'd understand and to tell you that he'd be back in two weeks. But I'll be sure to put you to work as soon as I get the chance…"

'_Great. More bad news. That seems to be all anyone has to tell anymore. Then she went and hinted that she'd give me work, but I noted the tone of voice she used. It seems that was a lie, but why would she do that. Maybe it's because I'm still a Genin. If I could just show her how much stronger I've gotten…'_ Naruto just shrugged it off and told himself that that kind thinking was not the way to improve matters. He was just going to have to be strong, even though it seemed that lately he had to be everyone's strength.

"Tsunade, I don't know if anyone has told you yet. I've gotten much stronger since I left with Jiraiya. I'm independent now, though I know you'll want me on a team anyway."

Tsunade was awestruck by this. What the hell was this boy getting at?

"Naruto, what are you saying?

"I'm saying that I don't like the fact that I'm still a Genin. I'm not doing a good enough job off getting that fact through to you, I guess." Naruto forced a laugh and scratched the back of his head.

'_Ah, so this was what he was so upset about. Well, no problem.' _For the first time in _really_ long time, Tsunade had a problem that was a quick fix.

"Ok, the Chunin exams are just a month or two away. You can take them then."

Naruto gave her a grim look. "I don't have that kind of time to spare. Plus, you know as well as I do that would be a waste of my time and the proctors'. I think that I'm really good at what I do. It may not come naturally to me, but I can fight just as good as anyone else." Tsunade smiled at him and laughed slightly. It was time this kid got a break, but not a full break, so to speak.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing Naruto, I couldn't agree with you more."

"Now wait a second. I can explain why I…..-what?"

"I said I agree with you. It'd be a waste of time for everyone."

Naruto was completely and utterly befuddled. Never in his entire life had Tsunade agreed with something _he_ said. Naruto had a lot of strange things happen in his life, but this one took the metaphorical 'cake.'

"So, let me get this straight. You're just going to give me a boost in rank because you, if I heard you correctly, agree with me?"

"Well, I'm not just going to say 'Here you go, you're a Chunin or Jounin.' You're still going to have to prove to me that you're capable." This made Naruto's day in the biggest of ways.

"Alright! So, what do I have to do?"

"Not now, maybe tomorrow. You just got back today and you need to take a day for yourself. So, you go and have fun and I'll think up something for you to do that will prove to me that you're deserving of an increase in rank."

"Ok, I'd normally insist that I do something today. _But_, I'm happy with this decision. I'll just be showing myself out and you have a great day, Granny Tsunade!" Tsunade just chuckled and waved him off. But she had to say one last thing before he went 'running off into the sunset'.

"Naruto, I have one last thing to tell you before I let you go."

Naruto spun around on his heel and looked at her with his usual goofy grin.

"Yeah, Granny Tsunade, what is it?"

"You are going to have a visitor arriving either sometime tonight or within a day or two. He's an old friend of mind," Tsunade said, her voice shaking a bit on that last part, almost as if the words tasted bad.

"Who?"

"I can't tell you that, because he does a much better job of introducing himself, trust me. But he won't harm you in any way, so don't worry about that." Although Tsunade had absolutely NO idea if that would be the case.

"Ok, that's fine by me. Maybe whoever this mystery person is likes ramen too!"

And with that Naruto walked out of Tsunade's office. She knew for a fact that this was not the last she'd hear of this. As soon as _he_ showed up things would all go to hell again. So she might as well enjoy the peace she had while she had it. Besides maybe nothing will go wrong and it would all work itself out in the end.

'_HA! Like that will ever happen. Since when did fate let me have a break? Not since I took up the Hokage role. But, maybe that's all part of it, just a never ending pile of shit that someone's got to clean up. I should be getting free sake with this job. Gods know that it doesn't pay enough. Oh well, there is only one thing that I've concluded upon in the last five or so years…That is the sad fact that…I'm getting too old for this shit!'_

Hinata wasn't sure that her dad wanting to see her was a good thing or not. Recently, he just wanted to rant about how stupid the cadet branch was. Then she'd bring up Neji and he'd say things like 'well…he seems to be an exception to most things about our clan' and he'd shut up. So, she just assumed that this was another rant session and then he'd act like he was interested in what was going on with her and then he'd let her leave.

She walked up to the main door of the household and slid it open. She looked around and noticed that it was strangely empty. She figured that at least someone would be here to, well… there was just always people here. It seemed that recently there were people running in and out of the house because of all the hullabaloo(I just felt like using that word). So, it was almost scary to see the house so empty.

Hinata shrugged it off as paranoia and continued on her way. She walked into the training yard. Still no one there. Something had to be wrong, because she knew for a fact that Neji and her father trained every day from around this time 'til about 4:30.

'_Ok, something is up. Where in the world is everyone? Either something big is going on or something really terrible has happened. I hope it's not the latter. I need to find father and ask him what's going on.'_

She ran down the remaining part of the outside corridor and into the meeting room where her father and the rest of the clan usually met to discuss matters of great importance.

Here, it seemed, was every member of her clan that she had ever met and several she hadn't.

There was obviously something going on, because people were trying to talk over everybody else and it seemed that included damn near everyone in the whole room. She shuffled around a bit trying to spot her father in the commotion. She finally found him standing in the back of the room, talking to two Anbu Black Ops. She dodged and pushed her way over to finally get to him.

"Father, what's going on?" Her father looked up and gave her a grim look. He walked over to her and embraced her in quick hug and held her by the shoulders as he looked at her. Hinata noticed his eyes were filled with great sorrow.

"Hinata, I'm so glad to see your alright."

"Father, what's wrong? Why are all these people here and why did no one come get me sooner?"

"Because my daughter, no one could find you. I don't have much time to explain, but something grave has happened to this family. Three of our main household members were found dead just outside the village. There was blood everywhere and signs of a great struggle."

Hinata was shocked. She'd never heard anything like this today, not even rumors. There seemed to be no commotion about it going around town. She could tell when something was wrong just by the way people acted around her and each other. Who would do such a thing? Who had the ability to kill three main household members of the Hyuga clan? One answer led to way too many questions.

"That's horrible! Do we know who did it?"

"We are not one hundred percent sure yet, but I think we've got him… Whoever did it was extremely skilled and quick to attack. To overcome three of our clan at once… That's quiet the feat. But we do have one hint as to who could have done it." He motioned over to a table where a piece of wood had been laid.

It was a normal piece of wood. Just a chunk of timber that looked like it had been hacked out of a tree. It didn't have any marks on it. There were Anbu standing around it though. It was almost as if they were trying to hold something back. She stood closer to try and get a better look. When she saw it at last she gasped. The piece of wood was on fire, and the flame was black as charcoal!

"What kind of flame is that father?" Hinata's voice quivered when she spoke.

"That, my daughter, is the black flame called Amaterasu. It's a dark and forbidden jutsu used only by the Uchiha clan. I haven't gazed upon it since the clans were near annihilation. There are only two men that I know of who could have done such a thing. Sasuke Uchiha, though he hasn't been seen around the village for three years. The other is Itachi Uchiha, who was recently spotted outside the village and who I know for a fact can do this very jutsu. So, he's our prime suspect, but we're not ready to rule Sasuke out just yet. I know it's highly unlikely that he did, but there's always a chance."

None of this made sense. Why would Itachi kill three members of the Hyuga clan? Just because…no…that didn't sound like Itachi at all; at least not the Itachi that she had heard of around the village. Her sensei had talked about him once before when he put her in the hospital. She had told them the tale of the Uchiha clan and how it was all but whipped out- how Itachi killed his entire family with the exception of Sasuke. But she had also told them that he wasn't one to kill unless it was a necessary thing. She said he could have easily killed her, Kakashi, and Asuma, but he didn't.

"But I've heard that Itachi won't kill unless he had motivation. There had to be some reason as to why he'd do that. They would have had to…."

Then it hit her.

"They would've had to know something threatening to the Akatsuki for him to have any reason to take them out!"

Haishi looked at her, astounded at first, then smiled.

"That's right Hinata, they must have seen or heard something that he didn't want them to know. I'll tell the Black Ops to find out where they were before they came back to the village and have them ask around."

Hinata smiled and turned to walk away. She had to see Naruto again. Since she seemed to be done here, she thought she'd go find him. But her father wasn't done yet.

"Hinata, I think it'd be best if you came home before dark tonight. It's not safe out there when people like Itachi are out and about. So don't be gone long."

She sighed. She knew that something like this was going to happen. "Yes, father."

She walked out of the room and let herself out of the house. Now she had to find Naruto to tell him the bad news and even worse, she couldn't go see him tonight at the party.

'_Damn, I was really looking forward to spending some time with him. He'll understand though, maybe we can see each other another time.'_ Hinata started off towards Ichiraku, where Naruto was most likely to be. Or at least, someone who knew where Naruto was.

He had been traveling for many days. He'd thought he'd be there by now, but taking a quick look around at where he was he could tell this was not going to be the case. He sighed and kept walking in the same direction- one he had traveled many years ago. To him, it seemed like a completely different life back then. He was much older now, about 28. And bigger too, but that comes with age. One of the things he knew you could be sure of in life is that when you visited a place after being gone for years on end, everything seemed much smaller. He hadn't been home in twenty years and he wasn't sure he was ready to go back yet. Mulling all this over while walking down the trail, he looked up to the sky.

'_Looks like it's two thirty or so. I should be there by nightfall if I keep moving at a constant pace. I guess I'll get to see him today after all. I hope he doesn't take my absence for all this time the wrong way. I just needed to get out on my own. I'm done with that now. There's no fun in spending your life studying. I think I've got a mastery on it now, but I guess only time will tell.'_

He walked over to a large tree and placed his palm on the trunk. He made a few hand signs with the other and pushed against the tree. Suddenly one of the tree branches leaned down onto the ground. He walked onto it and snapped his fingers and with that the branch rose back up. He could see over the treetops now. Gazing off into the distance, he smiled.

"Not much further now."

He jumped back onto the ground and stared off through all the trees. He made several hand signs and finally slammed both palms onto the ground. He looked up expectantly, waiting for something…

Shortly after, all the trees in his way for miles… parted.

Naruto was just finishing up his early dinner at Ichiraku as he started to walk home. He wanted to get a little fuel in him before the party started. He really didn't want there to be a party, but it was too late now to stop it. Beside, it might be fun to see everybody again. After repeating this in his head once more, Naruto scoffed. No way in hell was that going to happen. At first it would seem fun, but shortly after something would push him too far and he'd snap and everyone would just stand around and wonder why he got mad. Mulling over that thought, his mood quickly became sour. So it was probably a good thing that just then, Hinata walked up.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing?"

He spun around at the mention of his name. His mood improved when he saw Hinata standing there. Something about her always made him smile.

"Hi Hinata, nothing really. I was just headed home to prepare for the disaster sure to come later on tonight."

She giggled. Something about him always made her happy. She was always in a good mood whenever Naruto was around. She never fully understood why she felt this way, but she knew it wasn't a bad thing. She never seemed to be able to put two and two together. She started to sweat a little every time he got close, queasiness followed shortly. It wasn't severe though, just enough to tell her he was close. In the old days (and quite recently) she would faint if he got really close to her. She had learned to get used to it quickly. In her own way, she enjoyed it more than anything. Being close to him was a fearful thing, because she never knew had to act. At the same time it was a joyous thing, because she loved that feeling he gave her.

"Well, I could help you with that if you'd like," she said as she walked to his side and smiled.

"I'd like that a lot." He returned her smile and wrapped his arm around her. He didn't know why he did it, it just felt like the right thing to do. He felt great when he was close to her. She didn't seem to mind either, except when she passed out. Fearing this would be the case, Naruto looked at her to see if she showed signs of fainting. To his pleasant surprise she didn't. All there was to her face was a deep blush that almost made her look like a tomato. He didn't mind the blush anymore. In fact, he thought it was cute.

They both shared strong feeling towards one another. Each different but oddly similar. He liked being close to her. She felt the same way about him. They both enjoyed being around the other, and nothing brought either of them more happiness than that. There was only one thing standing between them now…

Neither of them completely understood why.

_To Be Continued…_

Authors Notes: Well, that, like all my other chapters, took WAY too long to write. I promise I'll try to put these chapters out quicker. So what'd you think? I don't think I covered enough, but that's just me. How about Naruto's cousin, did I create enough mystery around his persona? R&R please and thank you, and I'd really like to know that answer to those questions, it helps me improve as a writer. Thank you all for reading! Next time in Light Within the Darkness, EVERYBODY DIES!……HAHA, just kidding! I do have a soul, I just can't seem to remember where I put it.


	5. A Not So Warm Welcome

**The Light Within the Darkness**

**Part 5**

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or any of the original characters.

Madara Uchiha was everything but pleased right now. For the first time since the organizations establishment, something had gone horribly wrong. Even worse yet, the cause of it was one of his best and his own blood, Itachi Uchiha. He was getting angrier by the second, the more he thought about it the worst his temper became.

It all started earlier that same day. Three members of the Hyuga clan had somehow managed to find top secret papers from Akatsuki based just outside the Leaf Village and almost took them back to the that very village. The papers were hidden in a remote location near the Leaf, and hidden well. They were kept in an abandoned shack that these three men managed to find the spot and raid it for the papers.

'_When will the Hyuga clan learn that those Byakugan eyes see too much? Oh well, it will lead to their own destruction soon enough. The problem at hand, though, is the fact that Itachi made an error, and a critical one at that. He's supposed to be my right hand man, the one I can depend on when I need something done. This won't do at all. I'll have to pick up the slack now.'_

Headquarters was in utter chaos since the discovery of those paper. Itachi had managed to kill the Hyuga members and retrieve the papers, but there were questions being asked now. Questions that would be hard to silence this time. Word was getting out now, and that wasn't good at all.

Someone had to intervene and fast…

Akatsuki members were running wild around the place, trying to get answers which only lead to more questions. Madara thought it was time to actually get something done around here.

"You," said Madara, motioning to one of the Akatsuki members who looked least busy at the time. "Where is Itachi Uchiha?"

The man was completely taken aback. Madara was known for his short temper and quickness to violence. It was necessary to choose ones words carefully around him. So it was natural that this man, who had never spoken to the leader before, was basically scared 'shitless.'

"Um…I think h-he left with Lord Kisame e-earlier. I think they w-went t-to silence some of the people s-spreading r-rumors. Do you w-want me to g-go get him back s-sir?" The man tried hard to hide the fact that he was shaking all over. No one dared say it out loud, but somehow it was always much colder when Madara was around.

"No, that won't be necessary. Send for Hidan and Kakuzu though. I could use them right now," said Madara who was laughing inwardly at the thought of ever _needing _those two.  
The man straightened up and saluted Madara. "Y-yes sir, right away."

The man turned on his heel and walked quickly out of the room. Madara knew exactly what he was going to have Hidan and Kakuzu do, but it wouldn't be easy.

'_I think it's time to flaunt a little power. Showing how strong the Akatsuki are will stop those rumors quicker than trying to kill off those who start them. After all, nothing quiets people quicker than sheer terror.'_

Madara turned around and headed back towards his quarters. Soon, he thought, he'd put some fear into the people of Leaf.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were almost finished putting up the decorations and getting food ready. Basically all the stuff others were supposed to do for him. He didn't mind though, work never killed anyone. Except maybe Rock Lee and his views on work, but Rock Lee was never one to view things 'normally.' 

They finished up the last few minor details and hid all the things Naruto either didn't want people to find or break. Which mostly consisted of instant ramen cup, because he was worried someone would take them. Now all that was left was to wait until guests arrived. Naruto and Hinata sat down on his couch and talked for a little bit.

"Thank you so much Hinata for helping out, I really appreciate the help." Naruto, thought getting better, still felt awkward around Hinata.

"It's ok Naruto, I don't mind at all. I liked helping you and, ummm…yeah," said Hinata making the awkwardness even more awkward.

'_Darn it!' _Hinata thought scolding herself. _'Why can't I ever find the right words to say to him. It always seems so easy at a distance, but when it comes right down to it I can't say what I feel like saying. Right now I just want to scream 'NARUTO, I LOVE YOU AND I ALWAYS HAVE LOVED YOU WITH ALL MY HEART!' but it never comes out. All these years of training to prove to him how much stronger I've gotten means little when I can't even tell him how much he means to me.'_

Oddly enough Naruto was suffering from an all to similar dilemma at the moment.

'_What's wrong with me? I don't know what it is but there something different about the way I see Hinata now. I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since I got back. The even stranger thing is, I don't want to stop thinking about her. The closer I get to her never seems like enough, I just want to get closer and closer till there's no space between us at all.'_ Naruto shook his head in denial. _'Why do I torment myself with things that I know are out of my reach? Why do I always aim for unachievable goals that cause me to nearly kill myself to obtain? Even when I do those hopes and dreams never seem to get any closer, never any more reachable. So why would she be any different?'_

From that point until guests arrived, Naruto and Hinata sat in total silence. Both pondering what the other was thinking…

* * *

First to arrive was Rock Lee (of course) with Sakura. Now Naruto was a little more than suspicious when they arrived together. He could have sworn that they'd been together when he saw them earlier that same day. After remembering that he did he had to ask Lee what was up. 

"Hey Rock Lee, I have a question for you," said Naruto with a sly grin on his boy-like face.

The green jumpsuit clad shinobi smiled and put his arm around Naruto in a buddy-buddy sort of way.

"Sure Naruto, what is it?" asked Lee in his always sincere happy way.

"I was wondering if you and Sakura were…you know…together?"

Rock Lee threw his head back and laughed. Now Naruto was completely lost. Out of all the responses he thought he'd get, Naruto was not counting on this one.

"Naruto, are you jealous that I'm spending a lot of time with Sakura and your not?"

"HELL NO! I just wanted to know if you two were a pair now. You know, slake my curiosity," Naruto said, becoming a little more than defensive.

"Then yes, we're dating and she wants to see where it's going. So far I think it's going great."

Naruto smiled, because if anyone REALLY wanted Sakura, it was Lee. He deserved her more than anyone else he could think of… Scratch that, anyone else he _wanted _to think of.

"I'm glad for you bushy brow," said Naruto as he put his hand on Lee's shoulder. "There is no one that I can think of who could be a better man for Sakura. I look to you as a brother Lee, and I think you've finally got all that you deserve." Naruto smiled but noticed that Lee did not return his happiness. Tears were now forming in the corners of Lee's eyes. Such kindness to Lee was always returned one thousand fold…

But not always in the was you wished.

Lee wrapped both arms around Naruto and squeezed with a little too much might. Crying openly into Naruto's jacket and almost crushing his ribs.  
"OH NAURTO, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS TO ME! I THINK OF YOU AS A BROTHER YOU KNOW? HEARING ALL THAT FROM YOU IT'S JUST TOO MUCH," said Lee as he slowly squeezed the life out of Naruto. And Naruto, not being the one to want to die of slow suffocation, tried to reason with the over-emotional Lee.

"Lee…can't…breath…killing…your…brother…gah!"

Lee quickly let go and apologized several times for his overreaction. Naruto just smiled and waved him off with a dismissive hand. Lee smiled back and headed into the other room where Hinata and Sakura were talking. He bent over like an old man as he headed toward the couch.

'_It's going to be a long night. After seeing Lee and talking to him for no more than 5 minutes, I don't think I can survive the rest of my friends.'_

* * *

Roughly one hour later everyone was there. Kakashi and Jiraiya showed up after Lee and Sakura, and the rest of the rookie 9 followed suit shortly after that. Naruto thought for the most part it was a pleasing experience, the hellos lost their meaning after awhile and he was getting really sick of telling people where he'd been these few years. After about an hour of small talk Jiraiya broke out with some party 'items'. Most of these 'items' were small round cups and a few bottles of sake just for the occasion.

Now the gang was mostly okay with it considering that someone else supplied it, because this was quality stuff. Rock Lee of course stayed away from the stuff for more than obvious reasons. Everyone else took in a little bit here and there, and even Hinata took a little sip which surprised the majority present, including Naruto.

"Wow Hinata, I didn't know that you drank," said Naruto who brushed his hand against her cheek as he made the comment. He did it mostly out of the sake and all around happy mood that was going on. She blushed a deep crimson, typical for her though, and touch his hand as it slid softly across her cheek.

"Only a little on special occasions when there is some around. I must say that this is the most special occasion I can think of for such a thing," said Hinata. _'Wow' _Hinata thought. '_Did I really just say that!? Maybe being around him so much is starting to help me express how I feel.' _Hinata giggled a little when she looked up and noticed that Naruto blushed slightly at her remark.

The mingling continued and the drinking pretty much came to a stop after awhile, for everyone except Neji. Neji had been sitting in the back corner for most of the party and didn't speak to almost anyone except Tenten. He was the only one there who never said 'hi' or 'nice to see you again' to Naruto. He just sat in the dark corner, his eyes glowering at the guest of honor. Mostly everyone knew that Neji, for one reason or another, was not pleased with Naruto, but no one really cared because he wasn't hurting anyone at the time.

But Naruto seemed to be, without fail, the only one who didn't take notice to Neji's loathing glance. So Sakura tried to keep him diverted from it by making conversation.

"So Naruto, what kind of training have you been doing over the past few years?"

Just before Naruto could answer, Neji got up from his seat in the corner and started clumsily over to where Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Lee were sitting.

"Yes Naruto, what kind of training have you been doing over the past few years? What kind of training is it that makes you think your so much damn better than the rest of us!?" said Neji, his anger showing more and more with each passing second.

Naruto, who was completely taken aback by this statement, had no idea how to respond. So he stuck with his usual innocent answer in hopes it would pacify the heated Hyuga.

"I never said I thought I was better than anybody Neji. I wish I knew what you were talking about so that I could answer you better, but-"

"Don't play stupid with me Naruto! I won't fall for such an act of humility any longer! You sit here talking about all the places you've been and all the things you've done while on this little 'trip' of yours as if it were nothing but a walk in the park! The rest of us have been bleeding for this fucking village that you preach you care so much about while you have been off having a god damn vacation!" Everyone there started to gather around and watched as the scene unfolded. Choji decided to step in and to try calm down Neji before things got out of control.

"Hey Neji, I thinks it's time you went home buddy." Neji cast Choji a cold look that stopped Choji dead in his tracks.

"Why don't you go back to your food Choji, before you hurt yourself," said Neji with a tone as cold as his gaze. Choji slowly stepped back and everyone there took note to try their best to leave Neji alone.

Tenten still got out of her seat, though, to try and placate the seething Neji, but to no avail. Jiraiya and Kakashi were standing together at a distance to keep a watchful eye on things incase something got out of hand.

"Don't you think we should be helping Naruto right now?" said Kakashi watching the angry scene unfold.

"No, Naruto can walk on his own to feet. If he can't handle this drunken joke, even being a Hyuga, then we ,my old friend, have done a poor job." said Jiraiya who was growing curious as to how this would all end.

Neji was still seething and getting more livid by the second.

"Not only that Naruto, but then you come along and have the balls to start hitting on my little cousin. Who are you to even think you have a chance with the Hyuga heiress? You, who have clawed your way to the top with fluke wins and that goofy grin of yours. No Naruto, I think this little trip has made you come too far out of your place."

Tenten was practically begging at this point for Neji to stop.

"Neji, please! You don't mean that stuff, you've just had a lot to drink is all. Let's go home so you can sleep and in the morning it will be all better." said Tenten who had tears forming in the corners of her eyes at this point. Naruto stood up and nodded in agreement with Tenten.

"Yeah Neji, I think its long since time _you _took your leave."

Neji scoffed and curled his hands into fists.

"Your telling me to leave as if your capable of making me. Maybe in your little trips you picked up a thing or two, but I have been training non-stop for this whole time. So let's see how you stack up now Naruto!" said Neji as his Byakugan kicked in.

Neji moved swiftly right up to Naruto and sent two hands flying at him in hopes of sealing two chakra point. Naruto easily sidestepped the maladroit attempts as if they were nothing and grabbed both of Neji's hands. Neji, taken aback by this swift turn of events, was completely unprepared for the kick Naruto delivered right into his face. Neji was sent flying backwards towards the wall, but before he could make an impact Naruto came right between him and the wall and delivered another kick right to the midsection of Neji's back. Neji started to go soaring across the room once again, but Naruto grabbed his leg and pulled him back. As Neji started in the oncoming direction once again, Naruto grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed Neji face first into the ground and partly into the floor below, knocking Neji out cold.

Everyone was in shock at how quickly Naruto disposed of the angry Hyuga, even Kakashi. The only people in the room who weren't surprised were Naruto and Jiraiya, who had known that it was due to Naruto's intense training over the years and also to the fact that Neji was very drunk. Jiraiya saw this as a fit time to send everyone home.

"Ok everybody listen up, it's past time you start heading back to your respective abodes. Naruto, Kakashi, and I will take care of everything, so just don't worry your little heads. We'll have everything fixed and Neji home without anymore harm."

Everyone nodded in silent agreement and left shortly after with their things and a respective pat on the back for Naruto for trying to keep violence to a minimum. After everyone but Hinata and Neji were gone, Jiraiya and Kakashi turned to Naruto with sly grins on their faces.

"Well Naruto, we'll be seeing you tomorrow probably, good luck with getting Neji home," said Jiraiya as he and Kakashi made a quick break for the door.

"Wait! I thought you said you were going to help me!" said Naruto in a pleading voice. Jiraiya was long gone but Kakashi poked his head back in the door for a quick response.

"Well, the thing is Naruto, we mostly said that so everybody leave. We don't really want to have to explain things to Lord Hiashi Hyuga why his star pupil is out cold at this hour, I never cared for dealing with him anyway."

And with that Kakashi left Hinata and Naruto to take the unconscious Neji home, and deal with the head of the Hyuga clan.

"Hinata, you can go home if you want to. I wouldn't blame you for it, and I can get all this cleaned up and get Neji back by myself. That way you won't have to face your dad or take any place in the situation."

Hinata shook her head in protest. That made Naruto feel a little better from all of Neji's hurtful comments. Even though Naruto didn't show any emotion the whole time Neji was talking, a lot of what he said to him really hit him hard. Hinata must have noticed that something was amiss, because she got up and walked over to Naruto and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok Naruto, I don't mind staying to help you with all this. I'd actually like a little extra time with you," said Hinata with that customary blush on her milky white cheeks. "Trust me when I say that Neji didn't mean all of that. He's just been a little on edge lately with all the extra missions and little down time. The village has been pressing us hard lately due to the lack of experienced shinobi. He has been drinking a great deal more though because of it, and we've been trying to get him to stop."

"We?" said Naruto with a perplexed look on his face.

"Well, by 'we' I mean Rock Lee, Tenten, Gai, and I have been more than concerned by Neji's drinking. We keep telling him to stop but he refuses to listen to us, we were running out of options to help him."

Naruto let a grin cross his face for the first time since the initial conflict. "Well, I think that I batted about as much sense into him as he's going to get in a while. If he keeps it up, I just hope he's ready for round two," said Naruto who looked at Neji laying on the floor with pity. " Because if he's going to be that way, then I'll show him how it affects his fighting abilities by beating him."

"Naruto," said Hinata with surprise, "Does it really have to be that way? I mean there has to be another way to solve this."

"There probably is, but it would take more time than my method. Pain is a great teacher, and believe me I know. He keeps getting hurt from the excess drinking and he'll learn quickly that it's something that needs to be stopped."

There was a long pause between the two before anyone said anything. Naruto decided to speak up first, thinking it was he who caused the initial silence.

"Look, we're not going to get anywhere by sitting here talking about him. Let's start cleaning up and get him home, ok?"

Hinata nodded and started off for the first mess that she saw.

* * *

After a while of cleaning Naruto picked up the still unconscious Neji and started off for the Hyuga Mansion with Hinata closely at his side. It wasn't long before they came to the house with an angry looking Hiashi standing outside. 

"Hinata Hyuga, what in the world are you doing! I thought I told you that you were to get home before dark. Why don't you ever listen to me anymore? It's times like this Hinata I really wish you were more like your sister. Don't you know how dangerous out there it is for Hyu-" Hiashi stopped talking as he finally came to notice Neji being carried by Naruto. "What happened," gasped Hiashi as he ran over towards Neji and grabbed him form Naruto. He laid the comatose shinobi on the ground gently and looked at him for any wounds.

"He isn't hurt father, not badly at least."

"Who did this!? Was it the one who we feared?"

Hinata shook her head, "No father, Naruto did it but only to calm him down. He was getting angry for no good reason and attacked Naruto."

Hiashi stood up and glared at the young Uzumaki standing before him. "You did this? I always knew that you were trouble from the beginning. I could strike you down where you stand for such insolence to a royal member of the Hyuga clan. The very nerve of such a thing!" Now Hiashi was getting out of control, and Naruto was wondering what deity he pissed off that day to get such bad luck.

"Father please! You have to understand that-"

"I understand plenty daughter! If this abomination thinks he can lay hands upon a Hyuga, then he has another thing coming."

Hiashi walked swiftly next to Naruto and reached out to grab him by the neck. Just as his fingers went to clasp around Naruto's throat, a kunai went flying passed Hiashi, just barely grazing the tip of his nose. The three shinobi turned to see who it was that threw the kunai.

It was a man, late twenties Naruto would wager. He was a little taller than average and had a muscular build. He wore a black hooded cloak with green leafs painted all over with pants that matched and sandals. He was holding a kunai in his left hand and spinning it around his index finger.

"Lord Hiashi Hyuga," the stranger said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Why am I not surprised to see you out and about picking on shinobi younger yourself."

Hiashi wasn't sure if he knew the cloaked figure or not, but he did know that he didn't care for his tone of voice. "Who are you? I demand to know who you are and why you attacked me!"

The cloaked stranger walked slowly over to Hiashi. "Do you not remember me Hiashi? I know I've been gone awhile, but I think you'll recognize me." The man cast his hood back to reveal a rather handsome face. He had blue eyes and long dark blonde hair that came down to his shoulders, and he looked quite a lot like…

Hiashi's eyes widened in shock, even though Hinata and Naruto did not know why. He started to walk backwards towards Neji and Hinata. "Hinata, take Neji and go inside right now, and please don't question me!" Hinata, not wanting to anger her father did so quickly. As she headed in the front door she cast Naruto a confused and sorry look. He just nodded and motioned for her to go inside.

"I apologize," said Hiashi with sincerity, " I didn't know you were-"

"Were what?" the man said in an irritated tone, "That I was here, otherwise you wouldn't have done anything, right?" The man walked right up to Hiashi to wear the two men were almost eye to eye. "You better not try my patience again Lord Hiashi, because that kunai wasn't a warning shot…I missed!"

Naruto was at a loss for words. Even though he had only seen Lord Hiashi a few times in his entire life, he never would have guessed that there was a man out there that Hiashi was a little afraid of! Hiashi was stumbling around for his next words, this stranger seemed to have quite the impact on Lord Hyuga.

"I didn't mean anything by it, I was just a little over concerned for my student is all. I swear to you I didn't mean the young boy any harm. But you didn't have to throw the kunai, that was steeping over the line a bit."

The stranger stood back for a while to ponder Hiashi's words. After a minute or two he seemed to come to an conclusion.

"Like I said before, Lord Hiashi, I better not catch you giving Naruto here any more trouble, or you will look to your 'star pupil' with envy! Now leave us, I wish to have a private word with Naruto."

Hiashi looked the man up and down, then tried nothing to hide the scowl on his face. "You better watch your steps carefully, Daichi Namikaze, for even you are not so powerful as to stand up against the might of the Hyuga Clan."

And with that, Hiashi turned sharply towards his manor and walked swiftly to and through the front doors. Leaving Naruto and this stranger, Daichi, alone.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I never thought I live to see the day."

Naruto just stood there puzzled as to who this Daichi guy was. "Who are you and what do you want with me?"

The man walked over to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. Naruto noticed a wide grin spread across his strangely similar features.

"Naruto, don't you know your own cousin when you see him?"

_**To Be continued…**_

_**Author's Notes:**_ I AM BACK BABBY, OH YEAH! AND WITH ONE HELL-OF-A VENGANCE! SORRY TO ALL MY READERS FOR THE EXTENDED ABSENCE, I WAS ON SOME PRETTY HARD-CORE GROUNDING FOR GRADES AND I JUST GOT OFF THE HOOK! BUT I'M BACK AND MORE READY THAN EVER TO START SERVING UP SOME NARUTO-GOODNESS. TO ALL WHO HAVE THIS STORY UNDER FAVORITES OR ALERT YOU HAVE MY MOST HEARTFELT APPOLIGIES, I DIDN'T INTENED TO MAKE YOU WAIT SO LONG, BUT NOW AND BACK AND WE CAN CONTINUE WHERE WE LEFT OFF. SO HERE IT GOES, NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE PACKED WITH ANSWERS, AND FOR EVERY ANSWER I'LL GIVE YOU A MILLION QUESTIONS, SUCH AS "Why is Rock Lee in a banana hammock?" and "Why did I just think that? Now I can't get that image out of my head." Until Next time folks, which hopefully shouldn't be too long :D !


	6. So Many Questions

The Light Within the Darkness

**The Light Within the Darkness**

**Part 6**

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or any of the original characters.

Through the cover of darkness two men scaled the great walls of Konohagakure. They wore cloaks as black as the sky they traveled under with red clouds. As they came to the top of the wall, a sentry started to sound the alert. The man was stopped short though, as a long red scythe cut his head clean from his body. The two figures stood on the wall and scanned over the city, looking for something. The two men were none other than Hidan and Kakuzu, elite members of the Akatsuki.

"What do you think we should do Kakuzu?" Hindan inquired with an all too serious tone.

"I'm think that we should lay low and scout this Naruto out for awhile. See who he talks to, what his routine is like, those closest to him, and so on. We'll use our surroundings and those who are around us to our advantage," said Kakuzu with a dark tone. Hidan nodded in agreement, smiling to himself as he thought of how much blood he was going to spill on this mission.

"Yes, but we cannot stay for too long. We are here to get Naruto without harming him…_too_ _much_," said Hidan, putting a lot of emphasis on those last words. "Also, we are here to take out a few top shinobi, making sure everyone knows who did it, and who those people work for. We are to make everyone quiver in fear at the name Akatsuki!"

The two men made their decent to the sleepy village below, knowing full well that blood would be spilt this night.

* * *

Naruto was completely and utterly befuddled, and right now any rational thinking seemed laughable at best. Never in his entire life would he have expected this one coming. This man…this…Daichi…had just told him that he was a cousin!

Daichi had not moved since he told Naruto of the unbelievable news. Naruto was getting a little uncomfortable by his 'cousin' standing there with that grin on his face.

"You're who?" Naruto asked with a hint of irritation in his voice.

The man stepped back a little bit and took a deep bow. " I am Daichi Namikaze, your long lost cousin, and as far as I know, your only living relative. I must say that I never thought you would be so…similar to me and the rest of your family."  
Naruto's face was beet red. Who did this guy think he was calling himself family and acting like his been around forever?

"WHY IN THE WORLD SHOULD I BELIEVE A SINGLE WORD THAT YOU SAY? HERE I AM JUST MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS AND YOU SHOW UP OUTTA NOWHERE AND START CALLING YOURSELF A COUSIN AND ALL THIS OTHER BULLSHIT! I NOT EVEN SURE WHO THE FUCK YOU REALLY ARE!" Naruto was screaming so loud that foam was almost coming out of his mouth. He was enraged to a point that was just below going Kyuubi on this guy's ass.

The man stood back a few more steps and his facial expression went from gleeful to dead serious. He looked Naruto right in the eyes, the two men's blues pools of emotion locked in a gaze that neither would break.

"Naruto, I must ask that you calm down. I figured you would be upset and even a little offended but this is most outrageous. I can prove to you that I am family many times over if that's what it takes to convince you."

Naruto looked suspiciously at Daichi and scratched his chin, considering the possibilities and implications his next few words could have. After a moment of deliberation he decided to ask Daichi some questions that only someone related to him would know.

"Okay then, I'll shoot you a few questions and if you get them right I'll believe your words." Daichi nodded his head in agreement.

"What is my favorite food?" asked Naruto, because the question seemed one of the most basic things a relative would know about him.

"Ramen," Daichi answered not even taking time to think. Naruto wrote it off as beginners luck and continued with the assessment.

"Who are my two sensei?"

"Jiraiya of the Sannin and Kakashi Hatake." Once again, Daichi didn't even stutter. Naruto was slightly impressed, but refused to show it. Daichi shook his head and put his hands up pleadingly.

"Naruto, stop this foolishness. If I say I can prove it to you than let me do just that." Naruto thought about it and decided to cut the man a break. Besides, he was running out of questions to ask him!

"I know a lot about you Naruto, I could go on and on about how I've watched you since the day of your birth up until just a week or so ago," Daichi's voice was calm enough to sooth most of Naruto's bubbling anger.

"Ok then," said Naruto with an impassive look on his face. "Prove it."

Daichi took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I know about the Kyuubi Naruto. I know how you are it's host body and you have had it inside you since you can remember. I know that it was the 4th Hokage who sealed it up inside of you, too. I know that you feel like a outsider and alone most of the time because of the way the older folks of the village treat you. I know that since you were a young boy they've treated you horribly and you never quite understood why."

Naruto was not only stunned, he was fighting back tears. Hearing all this was just making him relive those horrid moments of his younger days. His anger and sadness started rising inside of him once again, mostly due to the fact that the man's words rang true.  
"Stop," Naruto said in a voice that was barley a quivering whisper, "please."

"No Naruto, just because you've suppressed these memories doesn't mean they don't exist. You have to understand why you were given those looks as a child. They elders of this village all know what lives inside of you Naruto, and like it or not, that's all they see when they look at you. They see the monster that killed their loved ones and almost destroyed their whole way of life. I know it's not right and it's unfair, but that's just they way it is. You may be wondering how I know all this and I'm telling you it's because I'm your cousin Naruto. Not some bum wandering through town, your cousin live and in the flesh. You may not understand or believe it all, but just give me a chance and I'm sure you'll believe me," said Daichi who looked at Naruto with empathy in his eyes that Naruto recognized right away as sincere.

Naruto was shaking all over to the point where he could barley stand up. This was all just too much for him to take in one setting. It was almost like a dream that had died in the young man long ago. When he was in the orphanage he always knew someone out there was looking for him, and someone out there cared about him. Someone wanted to love him and shield him from all the darkness that almost completely enveloped him in those early years. That dreamed had died shortly after he got out of the orphanage at age six and realized that no one was coming, nobody cared, and nobody loved him.

Naruto didn't know if it Daichi's knowledge about him that only one or two people at the most knew about, or that deep down he wanted to believe that this was that someone who cared, but he stumbled forward a few steps and fell to his knees. Still shaking and not knowing if he believed the man one hundred percent, Naruto looked up into Daichi's eyes once again. The man's gaze was sincere with heartfelt understanding of what Naruto had been through his whole life. He wasn't sure why, but he knew that Daichi was probably telling the truth. The young shinobi tried to speak up and talk, but the words only came out as odd noises.

"It's ok Naruto, you don't have to say anything," Daichi said, helping Naruto to his feet.. "I know it's a lot to process at once, but I promise you that I will not let you down. I can imagine how much hope you've probably got for something like this, and I swear I will not let that hope die."

Naruto still was at a loss for words, and it didn't seem like any would come to him for some time...

* * *

Watching the scene of Daichi and Naruto from afar, Hinata couldn't help but wonder if Naruto was going to be ok. Whoever this guy was he was obviously powerful, because her father's eyes had not gotten smaller since he came inside. All the color seemed to be drained in his face, and he wouldn't talk to anyone who tried to ask him what was wrong. She worried for Naruto more than she usually would have, mostly due to their growing closer after the last few days. She was finally talking to him on a regular basis now and she didn't want anyone to ruin that for her. She had to get out there and see what was going on, she just didn't know how to go about doing it.

Her dad was already out of the picture, he went off to his room shortly after coming inside and had made no contact with anyone since. Neji was going to be out like a light for many more hours, and Hanabi wasn't up around this hour. So no one was really up to stop her or tell her know or even squeal on her. She thought about it for a few more moments, then she grabbed a few things and headed for the front door.

* * *

Naruto was on his feet now and walking with a bit of awkwardness to his step, and a bit of bile in his throat. The whole situation was just too much for him to comprehend. Now he stood before Daichi, a half a foot taller than he was, and thought maybe there was finally an answer to many of his questions.

"Naruto!"

The two men turned to see Hinata running down from the steps of her house towards them. Naruto sighed in relief that she had not gone away completely, for he didn't want that moment earlier to be the last time they talked that night. She walked over to where Naruto was and stood beside him, smiling and blushing deeply. Naruto was glad that her blush never seemed to wane, because he found that it complimented her perfect features.

Hinata's smile did not last long though as she peered up at the man who, it seemed from her window, to be giving Naruto a hard time. The man smiled at her, causing her to look at Naruto for some sort of clue as to what was going on, but she found him staring blankly back at her.

"Hello miss," the man said in a more than polite tone, "who might you be?"

Hinata thought that whoever this man was couldn't be _that _bad, and decided to return his greetings.  
"My name is Hinata Hyuga, you saw me earlier with my cousin and father."

Daichi seemed puzzled for a moment, almost as if he had no idea what the young girl was speaking of, but then it hit him.

"OH! Your Hiashi's daughter and heiress to the Hyuga throne. Well I must say that is a great pleasure to meet you, but then again, I said those same words the first time I met your father. Well, as you can see things didn't really work out very well from there. But that is a story for a later date. Well, my name is Daichi Namikaze, and it's a pleasure to meet you Hinata. I'm Naruto's cousin, and what relationship do you hold with him may I ask?"

Hinata was stunned, she looked to Naruto again only to find an apologetic smile on his face. As far as she knew Naruto had no family to speak of, and it had been that way since she knew him.  
"Sorry, but did you just say that you were Naruto's cousin?"

Daichi just smiled wider at the unknowing remark, amused by the fact that Hinata didn't quite comprehend what was going on. "Yes, I did say that, my young Hyuga, and I'm telling the truth." Daichi looked to Naruto and then back to Hinata, neither showing any bad intent, but at the same time there was little trust as well.

"Well," Hinata started off, "if your Naruto's cousin, then where have you been all these years?" Hinata sounded almost as if she were getting angry at Daichi. Naruto looked to her at first in shock, but it quickly faded as he realized the appropriateness of such a question.

"Yeah," Naruto said in an grim tone, "where have you been for these many years?"

Daichi's smiled lessened, but didn't go away completely. _'So so much that neither of them can begin to comprehend about why I've been gone. Neither know, in fact, I doubt that either really believe I'm telling the truth. Well, now is a good of time as ever for them to get to know me, might as well start at the beginning. But not tonight, the hour is late and only getting later, maybe showing Naruto a little something will brighten his mood, for he shall not be staying at his apartment tonight. He will be staying with me at our new home. That might brighten his skeptical attitude,' _thought Daichi to himself, the smile on his face not faltering. '_But I can't help but wonder what a Hyuga wants with Naruto. Maybe she's an informant to her father, but I can't let her know I'm suspicious in the least, or she might mess up the plan that has been set before all of us. She doesn't seem to have any hostile motives beside her father being a head of a house full of pompous assholes. I'll give her a shot and see what it is she's really after, then I'll proceed from there.'_

"Naruto and Hinata," said Daichi, while placing a hand on both young shinobi, "I shall explain all to you in the morning, but for now we, and by we I mean me and Naruto, must be getting home."

Naruto snorted at the notion, not believing the arrogance the man possessed. "You just show up out of nowhere, claiming to be my cousin, and now your inviting yourself over?" Naruto didn't mean to sound so pissed off, but this was getting out of hand.

"Nonsense," Daichi scoffed, "that place doesn't suit my taste. We will be going to my old home near the outskirts of downtown Konohagakure, a three story house with all the stuff I'll need to convince _both_ of you that I really am your family, Naruto. And also to feed the both of us, if your anything like me it'll take a while to fill you up," Daichi said with a chuckle. Naruto seemed to brighten up at the talk of staying somewhere else, but mostly at the fact that there was going to be food that wasn't going to cost him a dime.

"Wait!" Hinata said suddenly, "why am I in this. I really don't think it's any of my business and I don't wish to intrude." Hinata looked at the two men and sighed, she knew that she shouldn't have come out here. Now she was making it her business when it wasn't in the first place. Naruto looked at her with a bit of confusion, while Daichi just shook his head.

"You cared enough to come out here and find out what was going on then you must care enough to hear the whole tale. I'm not much of an early bird so well meet at the old training grounds just north of here." Hinata shook her head in silent agreement. "And Hinata," said Daichi, wanting her eyes to be locked with his so he knew she fully understood, "be ready to learn some unpleasant history."

Hinata was worried by the notion, but decided not to press the matter any longer. She gave a quick nod and one final glance at Naruto before heading back to her house.

* * *

Naruto stared in amazement at the house where they would be staying. It was nearly a mansion with the three stories it took off the ground and the décor surrounding the building. It was a bright red place with a seven foot tall iron gate all around it. Stone pillars held up the second story balcony, and the third story balcony was just built into the house with no visible support. Old trees and bushes lined the stone walkway that led up to the double mahogany doors with golden handles. Naruto sensed that there were also many seals and jutsu to protect the place from unwanted guests. He walked forward with caution and awe at the same time. Looking to his right, he saw Daichi had the same cautious pace as he did.

Daichi grinned at Naruto's stunned expression, remembering when he had first seen the building himself. The two of them walked to the seven foot tall gate and stopped. Naruto turned to Daichi expectantly, who returned his gaze with one of equal unknowing and shrugged.

"Don't tell me you don't know how to get in there," Naruto groaned.

"No," said Daichi with a grin, "I remember just fine, I was just messing with you. Now, let's see…how should I go about this?" Daichi stood puzzled for a few moments, scratching his chin in thought.

"I got it!" Daichi blurted out suddenly, then proceeded to open the gate and walked right inside the complex. Naruto flinched, knowing full well what jutsu are used to protect such buildings, he feared kunai and poison gas to be all around them by now. To his great surprise, nothing at all happened. No flames, knives, or even a single explosive scroll.

"What!" Naruto shouted in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that there are no jutsu or seals anywhere to protect this place?"

Daichi threw his head back and laughed. " I never said anything about jutsu or seals now did I?"

"But I felt them, and you were walking slowly just like I did, AND you even had to stop to think of how to disarm the place!"

"I didn't stop to think about disarming anything," Daichi laughed. "I was just wondering if when I swung the gate open I should yell 'BOOM'." Now Daichi was on the ground, laughing uncontrollably.

Naruto's mouth hung wide open in astonishment, he knew more about pranks then most people in the entire world did, and he didn't even see this one coming. He looked down at Daichi, who was still on the ground laughing his ass off, threw his head back, and did the same.

'_Well,'_ Naruto thought to himself in disbelief, _'he has a sense of humor like me, that much is damn certain!'_

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

**Author's Notes:** Well, that took me way too long to write. I've been spending this whole time thinking about where this story is going and for the longest time I couldn't figure it out. Now I'm pretty sure where I'm going with it and I should be putting chapters out more consistently. To all my faithful readers, I thank and love you all. I couldn't have done this without all the support. I shall hope to have the next installment out as soon as I possibly can. Until then, I'll be writing, the next installment of **Light Within the Darkness**is-_**All These Years…**_


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